Archive for category Salt Lake City

I’ve lived in Salt Lake City all my life and although I’m not religious, I think we used to have a great culture and a fascinating history which includes the federal government sending troops out here to gain high ground and point their guns at the populous. It’s ,undoubtedly, a good thing that nothing came of that.

Bully for me; a lifelong friend got me a ticket to see Paul McCartney perform at [the-venue-I-refuse-to-name] last night. The Tribune did a good review and so did the Deseret News.

Disclaimer: I love what The Beatles did to improve music and politics. The concert was chaotic perfection.

If The Beatles did nothing else, they served to bridge Britain and American music. They invoked a healthy competition of creative music the world will never forget. Kudos to whatever happened between Brian Epstein and Ed Sullivan.

During the last encore, Paul carried an American Flag onstage, and other band members carried a Britain flag and a Utah Flag.

Besides the fact that the concert was un-flawed in my mind, was the fact that I was sitting next to two teenage boys who were around the same age as I was when The Beatles hit the scene. They knew the words to the old songs and the ones I hadn’t even heard by McCartney.

My eyes were drawn to a couple who looked liked they had never exercised a day in their life, who danced vigorously for the entire three hours.

Here’s the bad part, and subject of this post:

Paul asked the audience how many of us were from Salt Lake City and I raised my hand before clapping. He, then, asked how many were NOT from Salt Lake City and the response was overwhelming by twice.

On December 19, 2008, in a courageous act of civil disobedience, Tim DeChristopher protested an oil and gas lease auction of 116 parcels of public land in Utah’s red rock country, conducted by the Bureau of Land Management. DeChristopher decided to participate in the auction, signing a bidder registration Form and placing bids to obtain 14 parcels of land (totaling 22,500 acres) for $1.8 million. DeChristopher was removed from the auction by federal agents, taken into custody, and questioned.

The auction was later declared illegal by incoming Obama Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar.

Nonetheless, DeChristopher was aggressively persecuted by George W. Bush-appointed federal prosecutors a judge who’s tenure included Chief of Staff for Senator Orrin Hatch. DeChristopher courageously refused all plea offers to avoid jail time. On July 26, 2011, Judge Dee Benson sentenced DeChristopher to two years in prison;

An hour-long post-screening discussion and Q&A with Tim will be streamed so that everyone, no matter where they are watching, will be able to participate: by watching and/or sending questions via Twitter. It wouldn’t be a true PeaceUp celebration without song, which is why we’ve invited our dear friend Bryan Cahall (whose song Arise you will recognize in the movie) to join in a jam session as well.

This is of course a very tired subject. I did not intend on writing about it until I saw the a user comment on the Trib article. First, a little background…

BYU Religion Professor Randy Bott attempted to explain the LDS Church’s exclusion of Blacks throughout its history until 1978. Bott explained that by excluding Blacks from the priesthood, the church was saving them from:

“the lowest rungs of hell reserved for people who abuse their priesthood powers…You couldn’t fall off the top of the ladder because you weren’t on the top of the ladder. So, in reality the blacks not having the priesthood was the greatest blessing god could give them.“

This is what we in Utah call Mormon Apologetics. It is an art form here.

I’m active LDS and I cringe when the church tries to cater to leftist political correctness and tries to change history. Randy Bott didn’t commit the dreaded “racism” either.

Most of the church’s response is absolutely true but part is splitting hairs because what Randy Bott said IS exactly correct, IS true doctrine, but what he said isn’t CURRENTLY focused on by the church (so since the church doesn’t focus on it, they’re implying that Randy isn’t speaking church doctrine). Unless passages of scripture and writings of past LDS leaders are going to be erased, it’s easy to prove. Past LDS leaders, by the truckload, dared to speak the truth that most blacks were not as valiant before we came here. Blacks DO descend from Cain. This was never a matter of dispute UNTIL political correctness came along and liberals wanted to alter all sorts of realities (btw I love how wikipedia refuses to use “B.C. and A.D.” anymore). Blacks ARE children of God and have equal OPPORTUNITY to seek for truth and teach it (equality before God isn’t true either and the scriptures back this up plainly, see Alma 28:13). In practice, most blacks just aren’t interested in the light and understanding of truth (they tend to prefer group think over truth). I wish this wasn’t the case. Whites have rejected Jesus Christ in droves and I would LOVE to see blacks en masse accept all the truth and remind lazy/arrogant whites that FULL conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to happiness and the only way to receive the miracles of God. I would love to see God pour out miracles and blessings on blacks, but the sad reality is that most of them just don’t seek the face of God. There are many blacks with TONS of faith in Christ, but they can’t break out of the groupthink and the segregated “black churches.”

I’m not ashamed of the truth and if lying leftists want to use the only word they know how to use (the term racism) then so be it. The church only creates problems for itself when it avoids the mountains of past teachings. Supporting conflicting bills dealing with the criminal illegals was similar double talk that only backfired on the church. Supporting the idiotic “compact” while not signing it also backfired. The general authorities have a very hard job and frankly they’re not experienced at DEALING with thorny issues (avoidance is the current order of the day). I would have just focused on Blacks being children of God and left it at that.

On January 24, 2012 United States President, Barack Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address to the United States Congress. During his address, President Obama shared his perspective regarding the status of the nation and described his legislative agenda for the coming year. President Obama’s 2012 address is especially interesting as this speech is delivered in an election year in the midst of competitive Republican presidential primaries. In his State of the Union address, Obama gloated that throughout his tenure he has “put more boots on the ground than ever before,” in support of enforcement strategies along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Congruently, Republican presidential candidates have also pledged to focus on border enforcement in order to reduce the flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. Restrictive positions on immigration have support from political leaders across various ideologies. This support results in self-defeating policies that have negative effects for citizens on both sides of the border. In order to comprehend the extent to which restrictive immigration policies are counterproductive for American citizens it is critical to analyze what fuels migration into the United States, why numbers of immigrants in the U.S. has risen and we must consider the existence of alternative solutions to the immigration issue.

In a globalized environment where individuals are increasingly mobile it is logical to comprehend what motivates individuals to migrate by taking a look at what motivates you or your friends or family to move across the city, state or country. Similarly as individuals change locations within countries due to economic developments, so do individuals choose to relocate across borders due to economic developments. According to Thomas J. Espenshade in Unauthorized Immigration to the United States,

“International migration is driven by regional imbalances in the supply and demand for labor. These imbalances promote low wages in countries where labor is plentiful relative to the amount of capital, and higher wages where labor is the scarcer factor of production.” (p. 204).

As a result of this, most migrants by doing a simple cost/benefit analysis will come to understand that it is in their benefit to relocate from their low wage location to a higher wage location. Therefore until there is equality in compensation for work globally, migration will always exist.

The global wage differential also creates a demand for low-skilled or low-wage workers within countries that receive high migrant flows. For example, the United States, a capitalist economy, possesses a habitual requirement for foreign workers as a result of the instability of the free-market. Espenshade notes:

“Because the cost of underutilizing capital equipment falls on businesses whereas the cost of laying off workers falls on workers themselves, owners of capital have a natural incentive to deploy capital to meet the most stable portions of demand and to use labor to satisfy the more unpredictable portions (Massey et al 1993). “ (p. 204)

Espenshade is theorizing under a dual labor market theory that for American workers to avoid such instability and economic deprivation, the workers tend to seek more stable and high skilled employment thus leaving a chasm for workers in industries that must be filled to maintain production at low costs.

Another factor behind migration from Mexico into the U.S. is weak markets for credit and insurance in Mexico. Douglas S. Massey notes in his article, International Migration in a Globalizing Economy

“…they seek to use international migration as a means of overcoming market failures that threaten their material interests at home by moving abroad temporarily.” (p. 47).

Massey is explaining that developing and underdeveloped economies currently possess weak markets that do not give individuals the needed safe-guards to protect themselves in the case of catastrophe or to even satisfy their daily human needs. Massey goes onto to explain,

“Without access to unemployment insurance, households self-insure by sending one or more members overseas to work. By allocating one family member to foreign-wage labor, a household can guarantee an income stream during times of economic recession at home” (p. 47-48).

Similarly, as citizens in America purchase insurance policies or make investments to ensure their security. Mexicans respond to the American market’s demand for low-wage labor by sending family members to the United States as a security measure, designed to meet daily consumption needs and to protect themselves against potential disaster.

The above are merely a few justifications for legally migrating into the U.S. from Mexico. What is the justification for migrating illegally that causes U.S. political leaders to vociferously boast and demand intense border enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border? The simple answer is: restrictive border policies. According to Massey,

“Despite all the public rhetoric about immigrant invasions and floods, the rate of illegal migration into the U.S. has not changed in 20 years. The only thing that has changed has been the rate of out-migration.” (p. 47).

Therefore, it is apparent that what keeps unauthorized Mexican migrants within U.S. borders is, the very solution crafted to keep them out: border enforcement. Prior to heightened border security, which was implemented along with amnesty as a result of Reagan’s Immigration Reform and Control Act (“IRCA”), migration was circular. Mexican migrants that were unable to attain their objectives within the United States across all of American history would simply return home.

“Whereas the net undocumented migration ran at around 180,000 per year prior to the border buildup, it is currently estimated to be around 368,000 per year,” (Massey p. 47).

Evidently the heightened state of illegal immigrants that reside in the United States that is a cause of concern to our President and presidential contenders, is not the result of an invasion or threats to American security, it is merely the result of militaristic border enforcement that does not allow migrants to follow magnetic economic flows or to return home in the absence of those flows.

Ultimately the immigration debate continues because the topic has become a political commodity in the United States. Those affected most by the flawed policies are unable to cast votes, and those who are most concerned about the policies appear to be stimulated by false information. As Payne and Nassar note in Politics and Culture in the Developing World, “Globalization stimulates migration in many ways. By intensifying economic competition, globalization is seen as creating a ‘race to the bottom,’” (p. 335). The sooner United States citizens recognize this global conundrum the sooner we can create plausible solutions to the perceived immigration dilemma.

Moreover, the solutions that have been offered by researchers are potential answers to America’s deficit difficulties without compromising domestic job opportunities for citizens of the United States. “American’s billions spent on border enforcement have effectively doubled the rate of undocumented population growth within the U.S.” (Massey 47). Until American citizens recognize the self-defeating nature and ineffectiveness of enforcement only policies along the U.S.-Mexico border, solutions to the current unfavorable immigration system will continue to benefit American politicians to the detriment of American and Mexican citizens.

The media gauntlet against 3rd party candidates is nearly impenetrable. Of the many independent and 3rd party candidates who run for President every year, I remember only Ross Perot, Ralph Nader and maybe whats-his-name-Forbes getting ANY media coverage.

As the current two-party political system begins to deteriorate and things like Occupy Wall Street go from full media blackout to 24/7 coverage, it should surprise no one that Rocky’s bid for US President IS getting significant media attention.

So you can donate to Rocky’s campaign, but neither you NOR the Koch Brothers may contribute more than$100.

Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson Accepting Justice Party Nomination for Candidacy for President of the United States (website)

I am proud to accept the nomination of the Justice Party to run as its candidate for President of the United States.

This is not my campaign. This is a campaign of, for, and by the people. We join together in this endeavor for the sake of justice – social justice, environmental justice, and economic justice. We pledge to organize and act, tenaciously and over the long haul, for the sake of the public interest, to enhance and protect freedom for all, and to vindicate the sacred promise of justice for all.

Those who understand that our great nation and its people have been harmed severely, and are at tremendous risk for even greater damage in the future, can be powerful agents of positive change. We need not settle for governance by the Republican and Democratic parties, which thrive on the corrupt money machine, nor do we have to confine ourselves to voting for the lesser of two evils, if indeed there is a lesser evil among the common choices.

If we have the vision, the courage, and the will, we can, together, forge a very different way – a way that will lead to a future of fiscal responsibility and respectful regard for the economic burdens we leave for later generations; secure jobs and fair compensation; decency and rationality in our cruel, self-destructive criminal justice system that is largely based on an irrational rage to punish; an investment in our nation’s infrastructure, education, and innovation that is as substantial as our need to re-gain our global competitive edge; compassionate and rational immigration reform; respect for fundamental human and civil rights; victory over the stranglehold of the military-industrial-congressional complex; protection of our air, water, and wild lands; essential health care for all, as in every other nation in the industrialized world; protection against and condemnation of illegal wars of aggression, pursuant to the United Nations Charter and the Kellogg-Briand Pact; international leadership on the urgent challenge of climate change; and restoration of the rule of law, including full accountability for crimes, regardless of the wealth or status of the perpetrators.

Men, women, and children across the United States, and throughout the world, are suffering horrendously because of the corruption of our government, the timidity of much of the public, and criminality that is rewarded rather than rectified. Lives have been taken, lifetime injuries inflicted, life savings decimated, essential health care rendered more elusive for millions of people, jobs lost, and the damage inflicted by our nation’s debt increased exponentially — all because of crimes committed with impunity, public policy guided by bribery, and a crooked two-tiered economic and justice system that rewards a narrow class of rich and powerful people while devastating the rest.

The root of this disaster is systemic corruption fed by money from the few who have benefited. The public’s interest in catching up with the rest of the industrialized world and providing essential health care to every man, woman, and child has been undermined by the corrupting influence of money flowing from the medical and insurance industries. Read the rest of this entry »

I think I’ve just eye-witnessed the spontaneous birth of a new political party and in the most unlikely of places – Utah.

But, hey. Why not Utah? Are we not the home of political mavericks?

Did we Utahns not replace a senior, sitting senator at convention (Bennett R-UT) with an insane, tea-party nobody? Did we not also deliver the only sane GOP candidate for president (Jon Huntsman)?

That’s right. So no one should be surprised widely popular, 2-term, Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson is running for President. And its about time. Even if this time around is just a warm up, it will be fun.Follow @PresidentRocky

That was two Wednesday’s ago. The next day, folks began to gather at Rocky’s house in Salt Lake. Paul Zieitz came out from Washington and a nascent steering committee kicked into high gear. The first state committee was tele-formed and a plan to get on the ballot in all fifty states was hatched around a dining room table and a speaker phone. (If you would like to form a committee in your state, contact Paul (end of press release)

This is not at all how I expected a third party to form. I always thought it would be a well funded, meticulously-planned, institutionally sponsored effort. Instead, it just happened. And like the Occupy Movement, no one owns it and it has no platform…yet.

The founding and interim steering committee are made up of the most unlikely characters: more women than men, all busy and passionate, but otherwise ‘unremarkable.’

The first, monumental task ahead is to get on the ballot in California. That means 103,000 Justice party registrations or approx 200K signatures BY JAN 2…two weeks? If that miracle happens, the other 49 states should be a cinch. Stranger things have happened.

Hey, people are winter camping in public parks in every major city in the world and one of the major American political parties seems about to crash and burn along with its media arm (Murdoch). A political vacuum is forming.

Its crazy. Everything is crazy. The rules are changing. A Dkos recommend can change the world. But it feels right and it feels unstoppable.